{"id":536189,"date":"2026-04-02T07:35:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/536189\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T07:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:35:22","slug":"caps-must-continue-late-surge-vs-devils-to-stay-in-playoff-hunt-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/536189\/","title":{"rendered":"Caps must continue late surge vs. Devils to stay in playoff hunt – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Capitals look to continue to gain ground in their pursuit of a playoff berth on Thursday when they visit the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J.<\/p>\n

The Capitals (38-28-9, 85 points) have won three in a row and are 6-1-2 in their last nine games to move within three points of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

Captain Alex Ovechkin scored twice to reach the 30-goal plateau for the 20th time in his career in Washington\u2019s 6-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Tom Wilson also tallied twice while playing in his 900th career NHL game. Defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored a goal and set up two others while Pierre-Luc Dubois notched four assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it\u2019s a huge game and you can see, I think, everybody was on the same page,\u201d Ovechkin said. \u201cEverybody set the tone right away \u2014 huge hits, huge plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ovechkin has scored five times in the past three games to boost his goal total to a team-best 31 on the season and all-time total to an NHL-best 928 in his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still got it, I guess,\u201d Wilson said of Ovechkin. \u201cIt\u2019s incredible. It\u2019s been so cool. I just continue to learn more and as a teammate, you\u2019re inspired. Everybody in here sees what he is doing, and it drags everybody into the fight. He leads in so many different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ovechkin collected a goal and an assist in each of the Capitals\u2019 first two encounters versus New Jersey before being held off the scoresheet in the last meeting, a 2-1 Washington win on March 20. Logan Thompson made 30 saves to preserve the victory in that contest.<\/p>\n

While the Capitals have an uphill climb to secure a postseason berth, the Devils (38-34-2, 78 points) inched closer to being eliminated from contention after dropping a 4-1 decision to the New York Rangers on Tuesday. New Jersey resides 10 points out of a wild-card position with just eight games remaining on its schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we were outworked for sure,\u201d Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. \u201cI thought they played harder, played with more structure. We\u2019ve been playing kind of a pretty loose game. It\u2019s worked out in our favor a lot with our offense and things like that, and (Tuesday) was not a loose game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connor Brown scored his fifth goal in his last eight games in the loss.<\/p>\n

Jacob Markstrom, however, had a tough night. He yielded four goals on 23 shots and also found himself on the wrong end of a fight with fellow goaltender Igor Shesterkin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I needed to do something,\u201d Markstrom said. \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating letting in four goals. You stand back there and you want to hit someone, you want to get involved, you want to do something.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a goalie, that\u2019s not really my job. Paul (Cotter) bumped into him, he sold it, and I saw him go after the huddle. We\u2019re down 4-1, I just tried to get a spark and do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

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